Alicia Alonso Honored in Ballet Festival of Havana

Alicia Alonso Honored in Ballet Festival of HavanaHavana, Oct 30. -Dance was in the air Thursday night in Havana, in the 22nd International Festival of Ballet, whose inaugural gala became a reverence to one of the legends without whom it would be impossible to write the history of this art.

Alicia Alonso is 90 years old and still dancing. Her hands and arms, the slight undulation of her body, even a turn of the head are enough so that dance flows from her like a continuous stream.

The Garcia Lorca Hall of the Gran Teatro of Havana vibrated with a packed audience ready to give back, to pay homage to her determination, her courage and the tenacity with which she nurtured a school and a dance company whose hallmark has been recognized worldwide.

Cuban President Raul Castro accompanied her in the royal box from which she symbolically opened the doors to a festival that attracts to Cuba very important companies and dance performances every two years.

After words of praise from Havana City Historian Eusebio Leal, the scene was illuminated by Impromptu Lecuona, one of her last choreographies, dedicated to composer Ernesto Lecuona on the 115th anniversary of his birth.

Alicia Alonso's vitality is undiminished, and dance was in the air in Havana last night, as if she were just beginning to dance again, 9 instead of 90. (Prensa Latina)